Opinionated as I can be, I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping my mouth shut about this whole election business for the past few months, at least in public and online (unlike some people on Facebook, who’ve suddenly reverted back to the McCarthy era…) Truthfully, I was never crazy about either candidate and don’t feel the need to elaborate now who I sided with and why. But there were a few things about this campaign, and the media’s handling of it, that were extremely troubling to me. Here are a few:
- Throughout their campaigns, BOTH candidates remained focused on society’s “victims” in their speeches. Whether it was “victims” of the economy and mortgage crisis or “victims” of our health care system, it was always victims! If either Obama or McCain spoke of a single successful man or woman who beat the odds, rose to the top and, say, started a business and created jobs, I didn’t see it. The more our leaders keep speaking of the American people as victims, the more people are going to believe it. Obviously, that’s not the type of attitude this country needs right now.
- When are the media and its audiences going to realize that polls don’t mean squat? Especially months and months before the election, when they first started bombarding us with their nonsense predictions. I saw a lot more media coverage on who’s trailing who than what the actual issues were, and that’s a big problem.
- I know they have freedom of speech rights too, but for ethical reasons, the vast majority of celebrities should just keep their mouths shut. Period. I don’t even want to know how many teens’ votes were influenced by some random pop/rap/ “reality” star who got on MTV, YouTube or MySpace and went on a power trip just because they felt like it. I’m willing to bet that most of them have never read an economics or political science book. Or any book.
All in all, I feel privileged to have witnessed such a historic milestone. Let’s pray that the good kind of change is coming soon.
Life Came Breaking In... 
Sue L said
Agree, agree, agree! I am looking to you and the rising college grads for leadership toward more quality content in the media, and less hype and drama. Will that work, or do we have a fatal flaw with the structure of mass media geared toward what sells the best, gets the highest ratings, scores the most hits?
Christie Patterson said
Although it is geared towards what sells or grabs the most attention, I like to believe that disgruntled viewers can turn that around if there are enough of us out there. Even if it means someone in the biz realizing the need for more intelligent content and creating a new station. The good news is, it can’t get much worse right now. I mean, picking apart Hillary’s wardrobe choices and estimating the costs of Edwards’ haircuts or Palin’s closet? Ridiculous.